TNAG-1383-FCO40-1831-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1985 — Page 156

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1 1 JUL 1985

REGORY

INDEX

PA

Action Taken

Dr Wilson

FROM:

DATE:

A C Galsworthy, HKD 9 July 1985

RIGHT OF ABODE IN HONG KONG

254

1. You will wish to be aware of discussions which we have been

holding with the Home Office on the question of whether and when to

deprive a (probably extremely small) category of Hong Kong BDTCs/prospective BNOS of their right of

their right of abode in Hon Kong/the Hong

Kong SAR.

persons

more

2. All BDTCs by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong will, as you know, be eligible to become BN (O)s. But, by the terms of paragraph 1 of Section XIV of Annex I, not all BDTCs by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong will be eligible for right of abode in the SAR.

Those

who were neither born in

nor Hong Kong

have been

ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for a continuous period of seven

years or

and who

abode elsewhere will not have the right of

have this right. In practice this will probably not much matter, both because the number of persons affected is likely to be very small and, more importantly, because those who are affected will by

definition have

have right of abode elsewhere, and therefore presumably

be settled elsewhere. This problem is inherent in the agreement

because the sets of people who

of people who lose BDTC status and those who have

right of abode in the SAR are not congruent.

3.

arises,

The question nevertheless

should the Hong Kong

Immigration Ordinance, which at present gives the "right to land" (ie right of abode) to all BDTCs by virtue of a

to all BDTCs by virtue of a connection with Hong

Kong, be amended to deprive the above mentioned persons of this

and right,

i f so when. Home Office officials concerned and we are

now agreed that:

(a) in order to comp ly with the terms of the agreement, these persons will have to be deprived of their right of abode from 1 July 1997; but

(b)

it would both be inequitable and would run counter to the aim and purpose of the BNA 1981, which was intended inter alia to

CONFIDENTIAL